Theater Review: Marsha Mason stars in a poignant Irish drama
Little Gem
Written by Elaine Murphy
Directed by Marc Atkinson Borrull
Starring Marsha Mason, Brenda Meaney, and Lauren O’Leary
Irish Repertory Theater, Manhattan
July 19, 2019
Little Gem (2008) is a three-actor play about the interacting lives of three generations of Irish women. We hear about their challenging lives in an evolving era where abortion, divorce, and profanity are options that might not existed for Irish women a generation ago. The play is very challenging for the actors, with mostly long, exposed monologues. During these, the other two actors are often offstage or in the shadows. True interactions between the characters are uncommon and become almost a special effect. The monologues are a mixture of narration of current events (an unexpected pregnancy, a new boyfriend, death of a family member) with selective use of retrospection and past history. Most of the latter comes from the juiciest role of Kay, a 60-ish woman caring for her ill husband but yearning for her own development—sexually, experientially, and otherwise. She also has traditional obligations as being the supportive mother and grandmother, but is perhaps less inclined to do this than would older Irish women of past generations. I was impressed at the playwright’s talent for moving the action forward using sequential monologues, a device that would guarantee somnolence from a lesser talent. Ms. Murphy mixes humor, sadness, and profanity in a uniquely Irish way---in Irish comedy, tragedy is never far away. She also nicely overlaps the monologues—we often hear about the other characters’ views of events just described by another one of them. This gives the play the familiarity and depth of a novel, as we revisit plot elements from different perspectives. The monologues are sometimes thematically grouped, as when we hear about unreliable men in the characters’ lives—the boyfriend unsupportive of the young Amber’s pregnancy, the drug-abusing husband of Lorraine walking out on the family, and the stroke and disability of Kay’s husband. In their own way, each of these men has abandoned his wife, and the playwright nicely contrasts the contrasting emotions this engenders in the women. A nice unification of the characters’ stories happens by the end of the play, but it does not seem forced or manipulated, instead leaving you with a nice feeling walking out the door. Playwright Murphy has only written two full length plays in 11 years, so it’s not clear how prominent a voice she will exhibit, but I enjoyed her honest dialogue and the funny, truthful feel to the women’s stories, whether the women were 18 or 62.
The big kahuna in the acting corps here was Marsha Mason (b. 1942), an Oscar-nominated actress whose career peaked in the 1970's in films like The Goodbye Girl. You could sense how she might have learned her acting skills in that bygone era of hyper-realism, one of the peak times for great women's roles in Hollywood. She was funny, warm, and touching as Kay, a superb part for an older actress. In this preview performance, she had to call for a few lines, but otherwise fully lived in her role, never resorted to stereotypes of older women on stage, and was the dramatic and emotional heart of the play. Her edgy young granddaughter Amber (Lauren O’Leary) was brash and sometimes clueless, but became increasingly warm as motherhood entered her life. The at-wits-end daughter Lorraine (Brenda Meaney), dealing with a failed marriage, and out of control daughter, and a frustrating mother, reminded me of the women-on-the-edge roles of the 1970's. While rarely having moment for true interaction, the three women somehow conveyed a sense of family and of comradeship in overcoming their adversity. Characters in Irish literature rarely have it easy, even in an era of social and religious reform. It was fun to see three talented actress digging into such challenging roles. If you had described to me the serial monologue structure of the play in advance, I would have been very pessimistic. Fortunately, the talents of writer, director, and actors all proved this preconception wrong. Little Gem is a great play for companies who can hire three really talented actors.
Written by Elaine Murphy
Directed by Marc Atkinson Borrull
Starring Marsha Mason, Brenda Meaney, and Lauren O’Leary
Irish Repertory Theater, Manhattan
July 19, 2019
Little Gem (2008) is a three-actor play about the interacting lives of three generations of Irish women. We hear about their challenging lives in an evolving era where abortion, divorce, and profanity are options that might not existed for Irish women a generation ago. The play is very challenging for the actors, with mostly long, exposed monologues. During these, the other two actors are often offstage or in the shadows. True interactions between the characters are uncommon and become almost a special effect. The monologues are a mixture of narration of current events (an unexpected pregnancy, a new boyfriend, death of a family member) with selective use of retrospection and past history. Most of the latter comes from the juiciest role of Kay, a 60-ish woman caring for her ill husband but yearning for her own development—sexually, experientially, and otherwise. She also has traditional obligations as being the supportive mother and grandmother, but is perhaps less inclined to do this than would older Irish women of past generations. I was impressed at the playwright’s talent for moving the action forward using sequential monologues, a device that would guarantee somnolence from a lesser talent. Ms. Murphy mixes humor, sadness, and profanity in a uniquely Irish way---in Irish comedy, tragedy is never far away. She also nicely overlaps the monologues—we often hear about the other characters’ views of events just described by another one of them. This gives the play the familiarity and depth of a novel, as we revisit plot elements from different perspectives. The monologues are sometimes thematically grouped, as when we hear about unreliable men in the characters’ lives—the boyfriend unsupportive of the young Amber’s pregnancy, the drug-abusing husband of Lorraine walking out on the family, and the stroke and disability of Kay’s husband. In their own way, each of these men has abandoned his wife, and the playwright nicely contrasts the contrasting emotions this engenders in the women. A nice unification of the characters’ stories happens by the end of the play, but it does not seem forced or manipulated, instead leaving you with a nice feeling walking out the door. Playwright Murphy has only written two full length plays in 11 years, so it’s not clear how prominent a voice she will exhibit, but I enjoyed her honest dialogue and the funny, truthful feel to the women’s stories, whether the women were 18 or 62.
The big kahuna in the acting corps here was Marsha Mason (b. 1942), an Oscar-nominated actress whose career peaked in the 1970's in films like The Goodbye Girl. You could sense how she might have learned her acting skills in that bygone era of hyper-realism, one of the peak times for great women's roles in Hollywood. She was funny, warm, and touching as Kay, a superb part for an older actress. In this preview performance, she had to call for a few lines, but otherwise fully lived in her role, never resorted to stereotypes of older women on stage, and was the dramatic and emotional heart of the play. Her edgy young granddaughter Amber (Lauren O’Leary) was brash and sometimes clueless, but became increasingly warm as motherhood entered her life. The at-wits-end daughter Lorraine (Brenda Meaney), dealing with a failed marriage, and out of control daughter, and a frustrating mother, reminded me of the women-on-the-edge roles of the 1970's. While rarely having moment for true interaction, the three women somehow conveyed a sense of family and of comradeship in overcoming their adversity. Characters in Irish literature rarely have it easy, even in an era of social and religious reform. It was fun to see three talented actress digging into such challenging roles. If you had described to me the serial monologue structure of the play in advance, I would have been very pessimistic. Fortunately, the talents of writer, director, and actors all proved this preconception wrong. Little Gem is a great play for companies who can hire three really talented actors.
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